825] Events in the Life of Napoleon Buonaparte. **[826 Oct. 20. Mack's army surrenders, at Ulm. Sept. 2. Buonaparte present at an engageNov. 13. French enter Vienna. Dec. 2. Battle of Austerlitz. ment between the Boulogne flotilla and an English cruizer. 1812. 15. Treaty of Vienna, with Prussia. 26. Ditto of Presburgh with Austria. 1806. Mar. 30. Joseph Buonaparte made King of Naples. June 5. Louis Buonaparte made King of Holland. July 26. Jewish Sanhedrim. 27. Confederation of the Rhine. Sept. 24. Buonaparte marches Prussia. 1807. Feb. 8. Battle of Eylau against Russia. 1808. against July 7. Joseph Buonaparte made King 20. Surrender of Dupont's army at evacuates - Madrid. Aug. 21. Battle of Vimiera. parte. 22. Buonaparte returns to Paris. April 6. War declared by Austria. 13. Buonaparte heads his army against May 10. French enter Vienna. 22. Battle of Essling or Asperne. 16. Buonaparte's marriage with Jo- 1810. Mar. 11. Buonaparte marries Maria Louisa, July 9. Holland and the Hanse Towns Dec. Decree for restraining the Liberty 1811. Jan. 1. Hamburgh annexed to the French Apr. 20. The Empress delivered of a Son, styled King of Rome. Jan. 22. Swedish Pomerania seized by Cater June 11. Arrives at Konigsberg. Aug. 18. Smolensko taken. aloge: ruizer 1 1813. April-. Heads the army on the Elbe. 20. Battle of Bautzen. June 4. Armistice agreed on. 28. Battle of Dresden-Moreau killed. Sept. 7. English enter France. at 28. Buonaparte evacuates Dresden. Oct.. 18. Battle of Leipsic-Buonaparte defeated. 1814. role. Jan. 4. Allies cross the Rhine. 31. Allies enter Paris. Apr. 11. Buonaparte abdicates the Throne. May 8. Arrives at Elba. umas 1815. ✓ the Mar. 1. Sails from Elba to France. en as20. Arrives at Paris, and re-assumes the throne. Apr. 3. killed CS OF 25. Is declared an Outlaw by the Sovereigns of Europe then assembled at Vienna. Calls a new House of Peers, and Chamber of Representatives of the French people. Tru? › second Defeats the Prussians. 21. Abdicates the throne a second July 22. Surrenders himself to an English June 16. 18. BATTLE OF WATERLOO. THE incalculable consequences of this tremendous engagement, have already appeared to a certain degree, and are daily manifesting themselves still further;-they have taken such hold on the public mind, and appear to be so very important, that we have thought it our duty to collect into one article the various scattered particulars connected with that dreadful and decisive day. We divide them into three parts: Previous to the Battle: During the Battle; and After the Battle. Several of our friends are gone over to view the scene;-and we expect additional particulars. BEFORE THE BATTLE. The battle of St. John (thus stiled by the French, but by us the battle of Waterloo) was not gained by any preponderating mass of numbers: it was not decided by any single manoeuvre, nor attributable to any sudden and unforeseen occurrence, which, as at Marengo, so often turns the scale of suspense. It was fought on both sides with desperate valour; it was, indeed, "the tug of war;" it was a combat of man to man, and steed to steed: it has put to rest any dispute about the superiority of the British army, which from this moment must be pronounced unrivalled, and unconquerable, under any ordinary disproportion of numbers: and if, by its immediate result, the battle of Waterloo shall lead to Peace, secure and honourable Peace, our heroes will not have fallen in vain. So confident was Buonaparte of getting to Brussells, that several bales of proclations were found among his baggage, dated from "Our Palace of Lacken," a royal residence near that city. Proclamation to the Belgians and the Inha bitants of the left bank of the Rhine. "The ephemeral successes of my enemies detached you for a moment from my empire. In my exile, upon a rock in the sea, I heard your complaints. The God of Battles has decided the fate of your beautiful provinces; Napoleon is among you; you are worthy to be Frenchmen; rise in a mass, join my invincible phaJanxes, to exterminate the remainder of these barbarians, who are your enemics Valenciennes, June 19, in the Evening. They say the Emperor fired the first carbine: that he gave the example, and bad a horse killed under him: on the 15th, 16th, and 17th he gained astonishing victories, which were exceeded by that of yesterday the 18th, on which day he took 80,000 prisoners. The wounded who have come here arrived crying Vive l'Empereur! and say they long to be cured, that they may be able to return to fight; but for the excessive ardour of his troops, the Emperor would have surrounded and taken prisoners the whole Prussian army. They write from Maubeuge on the 19th that our troops have entered Mechlins and Brussells! Another paper says, "we hear the cannon roar from the ramparts of the cities of France, to celebrate the taking of Brussells by the grand French army.'. [In addition to these preparations emis. saries were also prepared to announce Buonaparte's victory, before he had won it. This does not rest only on the following paragraph.] It is a fact, that at two o'clock on the 18th, it was reported and confidently behieved at the Hague, Antwerp, and Brussells, and many other places in Flanders and Holland, that the Allies had been com The Duke of Wellington charged at the • pletely defeated, and Buonaparte had ob-head of the cavalry more than once. An tained a decisive victory. This was done officer of high rank near him, said, 'My simultaneously by previous concert with Lord Duke, it is too much: recollect, of his spies and secret agents, for the purpose what consequence your life is.' The Duke of improving any advantage which he said, My duty demands it.' Every one of might obtain. By the same agency, the his staff, and all around him were killed road to Brussels from the field of battle was, or wounded. during the action of the 18th, intercepted by waggons and other lumber and encumbrance; so that had our army been defeated and obliged to retreat, it must have left all its baggage and heavy artillery behind, the road having been thus rendered almost impracticable. La Belle Alliance, the little place from which some would denominate the battle, consists of not more than three or four wretched houses, one of which is nearly destroyed by the cannon shot. The plain of Waterloo is a magnificent scene, and a prize-fighting ground worthy of such a battle. The position of the French was woody; that of the Allies chiefly covered with grain. Rye was the prevailing species. It grows so high, that a Scotch regiment, in advancing through a field of it on the 16th, was nearly cut to pieces without seeing an enemy. The French observed its approach by the tops of its muskets shining in the corn, and took their aim accordingly, while our troops could only fire at random. DURING THE BATTLE. Brussels, June 25:-" In the battle of the 18th. Buonaparte directed the operations from a house on the left of the road from Waterloo to Namur, and at three o'clock in the afternoon was confident of success. Captain S. being made prisoner, was conducted to Buonaparte at that hour. He inquired of the Captain, who commanded? &c. and, on being informed, said, "It is very well, but I shall beat them, and be this night in Brussells." He also asked what number of English cavalry were in the field? The answer was, I do not know;' an officer of his Staff immediately said, 'I will tell you; you have fifteen regiments: I was in London ten days ago.' We had precisely fifteen regiments, and four of Germans. The great danger to which the Duke of Wellington was exposed in the late battle, is shewn by two circumstances that have reached us from good authority. His Aidde-Camp, Colonel Sir Alexander Gordon, respectfully remonstrated with him on his remaining so far within the range of a very destructive fire. The Duke said, he would take one more view of that part of the field, and go. Having employed his telescope for two or three minutes, his Grace was turning his horse, when Col. Gordon, who was accompanying him, was killed by his side. Another Aid-deCamp, Colonel Canning, had put his hand upon the saddle of the Duke's horse while receiving orders. As he withdrew it, his hand was shattered by a ball. The Duke and Earl of Uxbridge had preconcerted the seizure of the Leader of the Banditti's person, and the glory of the achievement was to have belonged to the 1st Life Guards. It failed chiefly from the confusion occasioned among the men by their gallant leader's severe wound, and by their not gaining the summit of the hill in time; the instant their project became apparent to the French, they were charged by a fine regiment of Cuirassiers, and at this instant Buonaparte and his Staff hustled off. The Life Guards were, for an instant, checked in their pursuit. The Duke of Wellington's two Aidesde-Camp were killed at his side. Of the 24 British Generals, 11 were either killed or wounded. Every Commander exposed himself throughout the whole conflict, and never was firing more direct or deadly, the French cuirassiers in particular committed dreadful havock by their first attack, but when they came to close quarters, the sabre was found to be more effectual than the long spear.-The Duke of Wellington's whole force of British, Belgians, Hanoverians, Brunswickers, &c. is said to have amounted to 94,500 men, (including $4,000 English) and his total loss is stated at 20,000. This is to be accounted for by the immense loss of the French, not less than 100,000 men. The Prussians estimate their loss, up to the 16th inclusive, at 16,000 men. True British perseverance of General and Soldiers was crowned with success so 66 much the more precious, as it had remained long in a state of the most awful suspence. "Never before," said the Duke, was I obliged to take such pains for vicmtory: and never before was I so near being mbenten."The French fought with greater sudesperation than was ever before wit "ressed. The conduct of the household brigade consisting of the Life Guards and Oxford Blues, at the battle of Waterloo, excited the admiration and astonishment of the whole army. They made repeated charges against the enemy's cavalry, and completely Bannihilated the regiment of Polish Lancers.sented The loss has naturally been very severe; out of sixteen officers of the Blues, five only have escaped being killed or wounded. His Royal Highness the Hereditary Prince, hurried by ardour into the midst of the battle, was surrounded and taken by the French. The 7th battalion perceived the Prince's danger, hastened to his assistaufée, and succeeded in delivering bim is Royal Highness took off the insignia of his order, and threw it in the midst of the battalion, saying," Children, you live all deserved it. It was fastened to their colours on the field of battle, anist cries of Long live the Hereditary Pr All the Belgians swore to defend, evento death, this mark of honour, and at this sublime moment many of these brave meh fell, while pronouncing this patriotic oath. "7 Y even t at this brave priotic The Prussians, it appears, went into battle with a resolution to give no quarter, which they carried into full effect! All the 7th Hussars British taken prisoners, were afterwards put to death in cold blood by the Polish Lancers.-The great loss of Officers and men in the 7th Hussars was owing to the Polish Lancers having small flags at the end of their pikes; at which the horses of the 7th, on their charge, took so much fright as to throw that corps into great disorder; of which the enemy took destructive advantage. The horse which the Prince Regent preto Marshal Blucher, and on which the gallant veteran placed so high a value, was killed under him during the battle. AFTER THE BATTLE. [One of the first consequences of the destruction of the French army, was, a difference in the accounts propagated, conceruing it. The minister at war reported that above 60,000 troops were safe: Marshall Ney, rose in the House of Peers, and stated that not half the number could be collected. In revenge for this detection_ for the fact was true-it was whispered that Ney's treason caused the loss of the battle. To clear himself from this imputation, Ney published an account of his share in the action, from which the following are excerpta. They detect some of Buonaparte's lies.] On the 17th the army marched in the direction of Mount St. Jean. o'clock, and though the bulletin which deOn the 18th the battle began at one tails it makes no mention of me, it is not necessary for me to mention that I was engaged in it. About seven o'clock in the evening after the most frightful carnage which I have ever witnessed, General Labedoyere came to me with a message from the Emperor, that Marshal Grouchy had arrived on our right, and attacked the left of the English and Prussians united. This General Officer, in riding along the lines, spread this intelligence among the soldiers, whose courage and devotion remained unshaken, and who gave new proofs of them at that moment, in spite of the fatigue which they experienced. Immediately after, what was my astonishment, I should rather say indignation, when I learned, that so far from Marshal Grouchy having arrived to support us, as the whole army had been assured, between 40 and 50,000 Prussians attacked our extreme right, and forced us to retire ! A short time afterwards I saw four regi passed there at nine o'clock in the morn- 833] ments of the middle guard, conducted by the With these troops he Emperor, arriving. wished to renew the attack, and to penetrate the centre of the enemy. He ordered me to lead them on; generals, officers, and soldiers all displayed the greatest intrepidity; but this body of troops was too weak to resist for a long time the forces opposed to it by the enemy, and it was soon necessary to renounce the hope which this attack had for a few moments inspired. General Friant had been struck with a ball by my side, and I myself had my horse killed, and fell under it. The brave men returned from this terrible battle will, I hope, do me justice to say, that they saw me on foot with sword in haud during the whole of the evening, and that I only quitted the scene of carnage among the last, and at the moment when retreat could At the same no longer be prevented. time the Prussians continued their offensive movements, and our right sensibly retired, the Luglish advanced in their turn. There remained to us still four squares of the old guard to protect the retreat. These brave grenadiers, the choice of the army, forced successively to retire, yielded ground foot by foot till overwhelmed by numbers they were almost annihilated. From that moment a retrograde movement was declared, and the army formed nothing but a confused mass. There was not, however, a total rout, nor the cry of sauve qui peut, as has been calumniously stated in the bul letin. I arrived at Machienne-au-pont at four o'clock in the morning, alone, without ary officers of my staff, ignorant of what had become of the Emperor, who before the end of the battle had entirely disappeared, and who I was allowed to believe might be either killed or taken prisoner. General Pamphile Lacroix, chief of the staff of the second corps, whom I found in this city, having told me that the Emperor was at Charleroi. I was led to suppose that his Majesty was going to put himself at the head of Marshal Grouchy's corps, to cover the Sambre, and to facilitate to the troops the means of rallying towards Avesnes, and with this persuasion I went to Beaumont; but parties of cavalry following us too near, and having already intercepted the roads of Maubeuge and Philippeville, I becrae sensible of the total impossibility of stopping a single soldier on that point to oppose the progress of the victorious ene-shot, though fired ever so ear, owing to my. I continued my march upon Avesnes, its being kept so bright; the back cuirass where I could obtain no intelligence of is made to fit the back; they weigh from 9 to 11lbs. each, according to the size of what had become of the Emperor. the man, and are stuffed inside with a pad; they fit on by a kind of fish-scaled clasp The front cuirass is in the form of a pigeons breast, so as to effectually turn off a musket Every thing leads to the belief that Buonaparte will not recover this dreadful blow; we quote the avowal of Count Lo bau (General Mouton), who confessed that the Emperor had lost on this day almost every thing that was personally attached to him. The highest praise is due to the inhabitants of Brussells, for their humanity and a tention to the wounded soldiers who were brought there in waggons after the memorable battle. Both sexes and all rauks exerted themselves to the utmost: the females were particularly useful in assisting the surgeons in dressing their wounds. They also gave a liberal supply of food. The brewers of Brussel's having been ordered to send water to the wounded soldiers who remained on the road from the field of battle, immediately sent 15 waggous loaded with beer. A deputation from the Hague has brought, in the name of that town, the sum of 10,000 florins for the relief of the wounded. The inhabitants of Rotterdam, in imitation of those of the Hague and Amsterdam, have sent a sum of 3,000 gilders for the use of the wounded at Brussels, besides liut, shirts, handkerchiefs, and other articles, for their better accommodation. The subscriptions were still continued, and it was intended to raise a sum for the behoof of the widows and children of those who had fallen. A Brussels paper says that the humatle of Waterloo, was such, that they were nity of the English soldiery, after the batthe first to assist the wounded French, 500 of whom were thus preserved by their generous enemies -The French cuirassiers of the Imperial Guard were all arrayed in breast and back plates, which would resist a musket shot-none of the men were under six feet high, had served three campaigns, and been twelve years in the service notwithstanding they were so protected, they were nearly all destroyed-three waggonloads of cuirasses were taken from the slain, and carried into Brusseis. At my arrival at Bourget, 3 leagues from |
0 Ressenyes Les ressenyes no es verifiquen, però Google comprova si hi ha contingut fals i el suprimeix quan l'identifica. Escriu una ressenya |